Forging Ahead
by Mutant-Enemy-730
Summary: No chance for a cup of coffee, and Rambaldi's work still being grabbed by the Covenant, Syd and Vaughn are thrown together in a mission that could force truths to finally surface.
1. And So It Begins

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but I love the show nonetheless.

Timeframe: Post- "The Frame"

~~~~~~~

Some days you wish you could just curl up into a ball and disappear. This was one of them. The world was waking outside Sydney's bedroom window. Birds were chirping, a squirrel was sending a few acorns to the ground; some people could be heard leaving for work. But she didn't want to go to work. It was a challenge just to stand in the same room as both Vaughn and Lauren without falling apart.

"God, why don't I use my days off when they're given to me?" Sydney groaned and rolled over, hearing her door open downstairs.

Lifting her head in question, Sydney silently slid out of the bed, moving towards her door.

"Syd? Aren't you up yet?" Sydney smiled as she heard Weiss's voice yell up the stairs to her.

"I'm up, I was just going to come down for breakfast." _Liar._ "Make yourself at home."

Slipping on a bathrobe, Sydney came down the stairs to see Weiss readying the coffee pot for her. Smiling brightly at him, she reached across the counter to grab the newspaper that he'd apparently brought in with him. Sighing at the news of the war, she looked up, only to catch Weiss watching her.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. You just look, I don't know, different." Weiss smiled softly. "Listen, we've got to hurry. Dixon wants us in as soon as possible."

"Why, did he call you?" Sydney looked up inquiringly.

"Yeah, apparently something has gone down, something big. He sent me over here to get you ready a little earlier than usual." Weiss informed her.

"Why didn't he just call me himself?"

"He said he tried, he couldn't get through." Weiss shrugged, watching as Sydney stood from her chair and moved towards the stairs. "I'll let you get ready, see you there."

"Bye Weiss."

~~*~~

Dixon closed the doors behind him as he walked into the room for the briefing. Pausing a moment to see that everyone was there, he began.

"Last night, a van pulled up beside a Spanish club in Madrid called _La Boca de los Lobos_ and grabbed one of the men that was going into the club. That man was Emilio Agueridad, a Mexican arms dealer on vacation. His bodyguards were left dead at the scene, and we have only one lead to help us find him. We have reason to believe that it was the Covenant who took Agueridad, since he has been recently working on a test model for a weapon that is potentially ten times stronger than the atomic bomb. We have reason to believe that some of the information on this weapon was hidden in the club itself. Sydney, you and Vaughn will go to Madrid, and following the lead, find out as much as you can on Agueridad's whereabouts. Marshall." Dixon sat as Marshall stood up.

"Okay, you know how you hate it when a cell phone goes off in a movie theater, and you just wanna like, be able to end their call?" Marshall began, holding a phone up to his ear. "Oh hi mom, I'm kind of busy right now, so could you, uh..." Marshall stopped suddenly noticing the stares, "Anyway, well, this phone, when you press 'send,' will shut down all electrical equipment within the building, including cameras and locks. You only have five minutes for it to work, since it eats up the battery pretty fast. Anyway. All right, Syd, you like body spray, right? Well, uh, well, this," Marshall holds up a small bottle of body spray, "is a beauty. There are a few locks that aren't electrically controlled, so just spray this on the lock twice, and it will eat through it. Just don't let it leak in your bag."

Sydney smiled softly before ticking her glance to Vaughn and finally to her father.

"We will lose radio contact during the time that you use the phone, so be as careful as you can. You will be going as Cecilia Guermadad and Diego Sanchez, Mexican officials looking into the kidnapping." Jack Bristow informed them, his eyes moving from one to the other.

"Your flight leaves in one hour," Dixon added, before standing, "we're done."

~~*~~

"Sydney, I wanted to talk to you about the other day." Vaughn began on the plane, sliding into the seat across from her.

Sydney looked up from her papers before clasping her hands together atop them. "And what could you possibly say?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry? I know I hurt you, and the only justification I have is that Lauren's father committed suicide. I didn't expect that to happen, otherwise, you know I would have-"

"Stop. Let's not talk about this." Sydney swallowed, trying to keep her composure. "We'll be landing in twenty minutes, we should prepare."

Vaughn leaned back in his seat, watching as she shut herself off from him before nodding in submission. What else could he do?

~~*~~

"Senor y Senorita, I thank you for coming. I am Francisco Almuerez, the owner of the club, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

"Gracias Senor, all we ask is that you do not bother us while we work." Sydney replied curtly, an accenting accentuating each syllable.

Senor Almuerez nodded once before leaving. Sydney turned to Vaughn, watching as he shut the doors. Sydney pulled out her phone, and pressed "send" before moving towards a door near the back of the room. With Vaughn at her heels, Sydney slid through the door into a hallway.

~~

"Memorize these blueprints of the club, since we will be radio silent. The room where all money and other valuables are locked up is the third door to your right form the room you exit, on the left." Jack moved his hand over the blueprints, Sydney and Vaughn on either side of him.

~~

Opening the third door on her left, Sydney moved in before hearing Vaughn shut it. Moving around the room, her eyes looked over everything in sight quickly.

"Syd, look at this!" Vaughn called to her.

Moving quickly to his side, Sydney looked over the plans he held.

"Oh my God."

~~~~~~~~~

Okay, this is my first time writing an Alias fic, so bear with me. I've written enough Matrix fiction to know what I'm doing, but any help would be great.


	2. Revelations

Sydney's eyes widened at what lay before her. For many, it was merely a list of items and places. To Sydney, it was a list of the places where every component of every device created by Rambaldi could be found. Tenderly, she sifted through the multiple pages of the parts.

"Syd, do you have any idea how valuable this is to us? We would never have to scamper to beat Sark and the Covenant ever again. We can get everything first." Vaughn turned to look at Sydney, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"Vaughn, this is written in English, on regular paper. Someone else must have the original copy." Sydney shook her head.

"You are right about that." A British voice cut in, the cocking of a pistol causing the pair to turn.

"Sark," It was a statement, spoken almost tiredly, as if she had gone through this too many times, "why do you always have such impeccable timing?" Sydney glared at him, her lips dripping with acid-laced sarcasm.

"As much as I enjoy gloating to you more than anyone about my connections, this time is mere coincidence. Now, hand over those papers, and in exchange, you'll both leave here alive."

Sydney noticed Vaughn subtly reaching for a nearby candle, and decided to distract Sark long enough for him to get to it.

"You wouldn't be here right now if you didn't have the original documents. Nor if you had Agueridad." Sydney pointed out.

"Quite right. I must admit, whoever nabbed Agueridad did a wonderful job making it appear to be the Covenant's doing. Alas, it was not, or as you correctly assumed, I would not be here right now." Sark smirked before noticing Vaughn gripping the candle. "Now, now, Mr. Vaughn, we wouldn't want any trouble, would we?"

"No, we really wouldn't." Vaughn replied calmly, pulling the candle so that it was dangerously close to the list. "You let us leave _with_ the list, or it burns to ashes."

Sydney noticed the uncertainty flicker across Sark's face before he lowered his gun. Grabbing the list, Sydney ran past Sark, Vaughn not two steps behind.

~~*~~

**A week later: "Unveiled" has taken place.**

Vaughn's eyes searched CIA headquarters, looking for one person. Upon finding her, Vaughn approached quickly, his steps decisive and deliberate. When he reached her, he locked his eyes with hers.

"We need to talk, in private, now."

Turning and moving down the hall without waiting for a reply, Vaughn came upon a supply room. Once the door clicked shut behind the two of them, Vaughn began.

"You were right. I'm sorry about not even considering the possibility, but remember, she is my wife, and there is a level of trust that goes into a marriage. I've just come from speaking with Dixon, and he said he would arrest her when she comes in." Vaughn took a shaky breath, his eyes betraying his confident stature.

"Vaughn-" Sydney paused, what could she say? "Are you sure? How do you know?" _I don't want you to be saying this unless you are absolutely sure it is true._

Vaughn looked down, his brow creased. _He forgot to shave this morning._

"Yes. Last night, while she was taking a bath, I went through her belongings. I found a hidden compartment in one of her suitcases." Vaughn paused to form his next words. "It held a passport with an alias I'd never seen before, a pistol with a laser sighting and a silencer, and, a wig. The wig was the same as the waitresses' at the club we went to in Berlin.

Sydney closed her eyes and shook her head. "Vaughn, you-"

"There's more." Vaughn cut in, almost as if he needed her to just listen, as if it was madness she was hearing and not a great relief, in more ways than one. Sighing softly, Vaughn rushed forward, his voice wavering with guilt and sorrow in every word. "The pistol's clip matched what Cipher was shot with. Also, the alias on the passport matches the time Lauren supposedly left for her father's funeral. So I checked the flight records. Nothing. She never left here, but did come home with us. It's as if she was in Los Angeles, but somehow ended up on a flight from Berlin to Los Angeles without ever leaving." Vaughn fought back tears. Yes, he loved Sydney, but he was _married_ to Lauren. _I can only imagine how devastating this is to him_. Sydney's thoughts flickered before focusing back on Vaughn.

"There are two more things I have to say." Vaughn looked up, his emotions once again under control. Upon gaining a nod from Sydney, he continued, "One, I'll be staying with Weiss for the next couple of days, and two, Dixon wants us in to brief us on our next mission."

Sydney smiled at the change in topic.

"Well, at least that _is_ expected."

~~*~~

"Syd, Vaughn, you two will be going to Tibet to retrieve one of the pieces that Rambaldi hid. A contact has told us that the Covenant has been combing the entire area for this piece, but he knows where it is. You two will meet with him, and together, will retrieve the piece." Dixon informed the pair upon beginning the brief.

"The man you will meet is quite shy. What we told him to look for was a young, married couple who are looking for the best cost for a trip through Tibet. Make your presence pronounced. Your aliases are Jonathon and Miranda Coliste, on vacation from the United States." Jack added, his words as direct as his eyes. "Marshall will go over the op-tech in just a few moments."

"Sydney, as I am sure that Vaughn has informed, Lauren Reed will be brought into custody today. I would like both you and Vaughn to stay out of sight during this, so as not to cause any more of a disturbance than is expected." Dixon watched as Sydney nodded in understanding. "Now, you said Lauren would be in around 9 o'clock?" Vaughn nodded. "Then go with Marshall now, and stay put until I come to get you."


	3. A mess of logic and ethics

"Okay, these appear to be regular wedding bands, right? Well, when turned on, by two pieces of jewelry for both of you, they emit a tracking device for us back here, but also scramble all cameras within a mile radius. I wanted to make it two, but the rings kept exploding. Now, Mr. Coliste, isn't this watch a beautiful wedding gift from Miranda? Press the bottom right button twice to activate the ring, and also, the top right button, when pressed, works dually to figure out an electronic keypad code."

"Now, Mrs. Coliste, this necklace, when you press on the stone in the middle, will activate your ring also. I would like to take a moment to tell you that I modeled the rings after Carrie's and mine. So, uh, try to be careful." Marshall smiled his habitually nervous smile before turning at the sound of running feet outside his door.

Sydney looked at Vaughn, Marshall forgotten for the moment. As their gazes locked, Vaughn squinted his eyes slightly, as in realization.

"Look, I know that there is a lot to say, but the truth is, right now, I could care less. Outside this room, my wife is being arrested, and I don't know if-" Vaughn's sentence was cut off as Weiss came in.

"Hey, we just received a phone call from Lauren, she said she wanted to speak to you and we said he was busy at the moment." Weiss paused before continuing, "She called in sick and told me to tell you to pick up some cough drops for her on the way home."

Vaughn let out a loud sigh before moving past Weiss and out to the main room. Upon seeing Dixon and Jack, he moved towards them.

"What are we going to do?" Vaughn asked as he finished approaching the men.

"For now, we can do nothing. What you need to do however, is act as if you know nothing. Try to find out as much as you can, but do not compromise yourself." Dixon explained shortly. "If we could find out more information about the Covenant through her, then that will help us all the more in bringing them down."

"I don't believe this. Only minutes ago, you were willing to arrest Lauren on sight. Now you want Vaughn to do the same thing my mother did to my dad? This is insane." Sydney cut in, shaking her head.

"Sydney, I don't want to have Agent Vaughn do this either, but Dixon and I have spoken together and we believe that by doing this, we could find out more on the Covenant." Jack replied, his voice stern. "This issue is not arguable. You two have a plane to catch. I suggest you catch it."

As Vaughn moved by, Sydney paused to look at her father, anger flash across her features. Jack knew she would have plenty to say to him after the mission, but he had to refocus the conversation for fear of weaknesses being exposed.

~~*~~*~~

Flash forward 36 hours 

Vaughn lay in a small pool of his own blood, his whole body throbbing. Lifting his head slightly, Vaughn spotted Sydney nearby, unconscious. As he struggled to his feet, Vaughn felt his knees give beneath his weight and slid in submission back to the concrete floor. Vaguely hearing footsteps outside the room, Vaughn had little time to react as the door was opened, and the harsh light from outside blinded him. He never saw the blow to his head coming, and soon felt blackness envelope his mind.

As Vaughn was dragged out of the room, Sydney slowly came too, and murmured his name, causing the two figures to stop. One continued to drag Vaughn out while the other moved to crouch in front of her. She felt a searing pain shoot down her spine as the man- she could tell the figure was male now – yanked her to her feet and prodded her out of the room with his rifle. Ignoring the pain, Sydney focused on moving forward and calculating her chances of getting herself and Vaughn – _Oh God, Vaughn. How did we get stuck in this situation twice?_ – safely out.

As the shackles were placed on her wrists, Sydney kept her eyes on Vaughn, amidst the pain. It was only now that she wished she could rewind their choices for this mission.

End of Flash Forward 

~~*~~*~~

"You know, my dad didn't have anyone to really talk to about my mom when he found out about her betrayal." Sydney began, sitting down beside Vaughn on the plane. "Vaughn, look at me." Vaughn, who had focused his line of sight out the window, turned to cast his gaze upon her. "If you need anything, or need someone to talk to, you know you can always come to me."

Vaughn sat for a moment before slowly nodding and smiling slightly. _How can she forgive me for everything I have done to her so quickly?_ Shaking his head, Vaughn voiced his thoughts to her.

"Well, I haven't yet, but I care for you enough to put my pain aside to help you." Sydney replied before standing to leave.

As she passed by, Vaughn grabbed her arm, halting her from her swift exit. Turning slowly to look down at him, Sydney was instantly pained. His face was contorted with a mixture or fear, anguish and love. It wasn't which emotions that she could see fighting to control Vaughn so much as the fact that she knew which emotions they were. And why shouldn't she? She fought with those same emotions every time she saw him. Sighing softly, Vaughn gestured for Sydney to take her seat across from him a second time.

"Sydney, we..." Vaughn paused before swallowing and looking directly at her, "We need to talk, about a lot of things."

"We have a mission to go over and we'll be landing in less than an hour, can this wait?" Sydney didn't mean to sound harsh, but right now, on a plane, where she couldn't get away, she wasn't sure whether she could control herself.

"No." Vaughn shook his head, "It's waited too damn long, and you know it." Vaughn searched Sydney's eyes, seeing the pain and apprehension flash through them. "It's kind of ironic."

"What is?" Sydney asked, hoping this wouldn't become too emotional. _With Vaughn, everything is emotional._

"I always promised myself, and you that I would never hurt you. Now, here I sit across from you, and I know that I'm one of the few who have hurt you the most. There are no words I can say that would make you feel better, I know that. It seems that every time I try, something comes between us to stop it. I don't know. I had a conversation with Weiss a while back, and, well, it made me start thinking about a lot of things..." Vaughn trailed off, how could he say what he wanted to say to her? He was till married for Chrissakes! _But, she's Covenant, and that most likely means that my marriage is built on lies._ "I asked him whether it was possible to be in love with two women at the same time, and he told me flat out, no."

Sydney felt her heart speed up at this, but forced herself to remain calm. Inclining her head slightly, she smiled, silently urging him on.

"After several more beers, losing twenty bucks playing pool, and several weeks of contemplation, I decided that he was right. I can't love two people at the same time. After you came, a serious rift came between Lauren and I, it hurt, I'll admit, but the one between you and I was even worse. I don't want you to think I'm saying this because I know that Lauren is Covenant now, it's not. It may be slight motivation in the right direction but-"

"Vaughn, stop. Don't do this. Not now." _There is never going to be a good time for this._

"I will do it, because you won't listen any other time, and you cannot go anywhere on this plane. Sydney," Vaughn watched as she stood, ready to leave. Standing after her, he followed her to the doorway before grabbing her shoulder and spinning her to face him. As she tried to push him away, Vaughn pushed into the wall, pinning her, but not hurting her. "Listen to me! I cannot lie to you or myself anymore. You know how you feel about me, I can see it in your eyes, and I'm not lying when I say I never stopped loving you. How do you want me to prove this? Do you even care to believe it?"

"Of course I care." Sydney raised her chin, feeling his breath tickle her cheek. They were in dangerous territory right now. She could practically feel Vaughn's inner struggle of control, and in truth, she wanted nothing more than for him to give in, but this wasn't right. "But this cannot happen now."

"What can't happen now?" Vaughn replied softly, his gaze ticking from her lips to her eyes.

"Us." Sydney shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

Vaughn locked his gaze with her again before speaking, "I know. Legally and ethically, you're right. Emotionally you're wrong."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hmm, wasn't sure whether I should push too far with them right now, given his heartbreak over knowing Lauren's betrayal. Tell me what you think.


End file.
